Prediction for the next Nintendo handheld

Nintendo initially said that the DS was not a Gameboy, but a third tier. Since the DS is a huge success, Nintendo is no longer producing the Gameboy Advance SP or Micro, and desires to focus its attention on the success of the DS.

I thought I would go ahead and post my prediction for the next handheld. For fun, we'll call it the DS Advance (see what I did there?) - yes I think they'll stick with the dual screen system. Here's a rundown of what I'm thinking:

*Dual Screens
*Touch Screen
*Backwards compatible with DS cartridges
*New media will be on mini discs like the Gamecube
*Graphics will better than Gamecube games - at least Gamecube quality
*No GBA slot
*System will have applications - internet browser, pictochat v2, a day planner/calendar possibly?
*Friend codes will still be in place for games (and pictochat v2)
*No hard drive (except small space for internet cache) - games will still be the primary focus, not mp3s or videos - and this keeps the cost down

And a couple of my own personal wishes...

*Comes with DS1 storage cart
*Better Wii connectivity - download Virtual Console games to your DS that can be stored on a DS1 cartridge
*Download Gameboy, Gameboy Color, and Gameboy Advance games to your DS1 cartridge - Also, upload-ability to Wii (I would actually prefer the WiiVC get GB, GBC, & GBA games...)
*DS Network - see your friends online - send single card multiplay data to friends via the internet, not just locally. Any game that is multiplayer should be playable from any distance.

I don't think this is too unrealistic of an idea, and I think I would be pretty easily persuaded to make the purchase. I can't imagine Nintendo making another handheld system that didn't take advantage of the DS's success and large game list.

Time will tell!

-Zon


(PS - on a side topic, I am now cruising into 40 hours on FFTA2. I really expected to be finished with it already, but I'm definitely not complaining...)

So many games, so little time – Part the Second

If one already has a ton of games to play, why would one purchase more games? Because one is simply mad!

Back in Part the First, I spoke of having far too many games to play, and hardly enough time to play them. Time has not become more abundant, in fact it might even be less so, but my game collection still continues to grow.

After discovering that Dragon Quest Swords was a mere eight hour game with a steep $49.99 price tag, I decided to wait for a price drop. This freed up $50.00 of my very limited budget, so I decided to head to my favorite money sink – eBay.

eBay and myself have a great relationship – I give it my money, and it gives me games that I would not (or could not) pay full price for. So here’s what I did with said $50:

$14.00 – NDS - Metroid Prime Hunters (used): No longer being produced. This was a steal of a deal in my opinion. A copy of this game used sells for about what you would have paid for it at retail when it came out. Why Nintendo stopped producing it is a mystery to me, since it supports online multiplay, but I got it a great price (via a newly listed Buy It Now) and look forward to giving it a go.

$24.50 – SNES – Secret of Mana (used): I let my brother borrow this game years ago, but it disappeared. He doesn’t remember borrowing it, so I was out my second favorite game. I had purchased a copy on eBay a few years ago, but it had Blockbuster Video stickers on it, and didn’t hold the same sentimental value. This copy appears to be pretty clean, and I picked it up (via a newly listed Buy It Now auction) for about ten bucks cheaper than the average sale price.

$15.00 – NDS - Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales (brand new): Retails $29.99. This has a pretty decent score on Metacritic, and IGN gave it a good score as well. I’m on a Final Fantasy kick right now, and while this was listed at $22.00 (shipping included), I offered the seller $15.00 (shipping included) and she accepted. I was very surprised, as I had told myself I would not get this game unless I could get it new for $15 or under, which is kind of unreasonable. Woot! (While I haven’t played this yet, I have read that this game is great for Final Fantasy beginners, but also entertaining for Final Fantasy vets. So if you have someone you might want to play Ring of Fates with in another month, maybe you could get their feet wet with this one first?)

On top of that, I recently imported Final Fantasy Tactics A2. I recently downloaded Harvest Moon SNES on the VC. Brawl is coming in less than a month. I still haven’t finished Mario Galaxy, Zack and Wiki, and several others…

Why did I just buy more games?!?

-Zon

Importing

Thinking about importing a game? It's not a bad idea. If the Wii weren't region-locked, I think I would probably be playing Brawl right now instead of typing this. Too bad though, the Wii is region-locked, but the good old Nintendo DS is not.

I have a few DS games that are from Japan - and fortunately, they don't really require you to know any japanese.

However, I am planning on importing Final Fantasy Tactics A2, which was released in October in Japan, and has no NA release date - and Square Enix has already announced their first half of 2008 lineup.

FFTA2 is pretty heavy on the text, and I know absolutely zero japanese. You would think that would be a terrible idea, but back in the early 90s, I played my first all-japanese game, the Enix made RPG, Soul Blader. When you submerge yourself into something, you may be surprised to find that you will quickly start picking up on things. I have played through and beaten Soul Blader quite a few times. It's simply trial and error discovering what each option does. Not being able to read the text also eliminates the 'hand-holding' which can be somewhat detestable in some games now.

Now in Soul Blader's case, I of course had no idea what the story was beyond what I gleaned from gameplay, and in FFTA2's case, I'm honestly not even really concerned for the story as much as I just want another Tactics game to play. FFTA2 might have a great story, but I'll figure out the specifics when it actually gets released in North America. Who knows, maybe I'll write a FAQ about it when it's all said and done?

A few other DS imports I own:

Polarium

Impulse buy ($8 used) from eBay a couple years ago. I went to Gamefaqs and found an outline and translation of the main menu and options. Gameplay requires no reading whatsoever. It's an okay game, a lot of puzzle solving with little reward. It got to be tiring after the first 25 (out of 100) stages or so.

Wario Ware Touched!

Bought from the same guy as I got Polarium from. Only $10 used (and combined shipping, woot!). This was some of the best money I ever spent on a DS game, as it's simple, fast-paced fun. You're handicapped slightly to start off with unless you can read japanese, as you don't know if it's telling you to touch, scratch, or whatever - BUT it doesn't impede your gaming at all, because the overall layout of the micro games are so easily understood - universal even. I'm glad I got this on eBay, as it is out of print now in NA, and in Japan as well I believe.

Electroplankton

This one I did pay full price ($50, on eBay of course) for, as there were no plans on releasing it in North America at the time. While it was eventually released in NA a year or so after I bought it, it was a very limited release, and you'll be lucky to find a copy at a Gamestop as it was never sold in stores. This game had very little text, and was also very easily understood. A very relaxing music-making game features 10 different modes each consisting of a different electroplankton. You can also just choose to watch preloaded electroplankton in action, which is pretty neat.

While I haven't played Jump Super Stars or Jump Ultimate Stars yet, I have considered picking these up. The first one you can get pretty cheap ($20ish), the second one is still pretty new ($30ish) and supports online gameplay. It's basically a Super Smash Bros game with anime characters from the likes of Dragon Ball, Naruto, One Piece, and tons of others. Sadly, I do not believe it has any plans on coming to NA... but I honestly don't believe a fighting game will require you to read a whole lot to figure stuff out - plus, with all the anime fans out there, I'm sure there are very detailed FAQs on the storyline, special moves, etc.

-Zon